Disney’s latest ‘Cars’ franchise takes off

'Planes' to go direct to home video

Disney plans to spin off Pixar’s “Cars” franchise first with “Planes,” that features a cast of new airborne characters.

Film will be a direct-to-homevideo toon that will be followed up by projects that are built around other “stuff that kids absolutely love,” said Rich Ross, chairman of the Walt Disney Studios at the Mouse House investors conference in Anaheim.

“Planes” takes flight on Blu-ray and DVD in spring 2013.

“We had such a great time exploring the world of ‘Cars’ over the course of two films, so it seemed only natural for us to see where our imaginations would take us in a film where planes were the main characters,” said John Lasseter, chief creative officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. “By expanding the Cars world, ‘Planes’ gave us a whole new set of fun-filled situations and a great opportunity to introduce some fantastic new characters.”